Hands-on Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08

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We take 08 for a spin. Can the five months since 07 really make a difference?

By Bozon

When the Wii first debuted everyone was thinking the same thing: "Gee, I bet a golf game would really clean house on this system." After nearly a full year with the system, however, there still hasn't been that definitive golf game that puts everything else to shame. Nintendo opted to go the uber-casual route with Wii Sports Golf, using true distance tracking but not incorporating hook and slice, while Super Swing Golf delivered true-to-life spin manipulation at the cost of a true, fluid swing.

And then there's Tiger Woods, the series we all thought would blow away the competition. Last year's outing (which, amazingly enough, came out less than five months ago) suffered from glitchy swinging, a lack of precision when dealing with hook and slice, PS2-like graphics, and some odd IR issues when physically "grabbing" your aiming circle and manipulating it around the course. We've had a chance to go a few rounds with Tiger Woods 08, and while a few things have been changed for the better, it's extremely obvious that this is only a few versions more than "last year's" effort.

Look familiar? It should...

After putting about three hours of solid play time into Tiger Woods 08 we've come to a very similar initial impression as we did with the last game; it works, but it's not all there. Tiger Woods 08 uses better swing tracking, has more in-depth tutorials, and is an all-around better game of golf than it was last year, but it's still plagued with a few Wii-mote issues, and they really hurt the experience.

For starters, the hook and slice manipulation has been changed for the better - at least a little bit - and you'll no longer worry about hitting straight shots only to have the ball rocket to the right in a gigantic slice, splashing into a pond or hitting "out of bounds" sections. When you hit straight, Tiger Woods 08 knows it, and rewards you for it. As another solid upgrade to last year's effort we're finding that swing tempo and power are factored into the equation far more.

Rather than having the player auto-swing once you begin to move (as found in the standard control in 07) this year's effort plays more like last year's "advanced" setting, having the club actually attempt to track you in a 1:1 manner. Along those same lines, swing speed is far more of a factor this year, as you'll need to master not only how well you time your shots, but how powerful the snap of your swing can deliver. It's a nice touch, and it makes Tiger Woods 08 feel like true golf. Check out our video below, titled "Mastery of the slice."

Where the game is a bit of a pain in the ass, however, is in its hook/slice manipulation. Any golfer knows that while beginning players work to eliminate troublesome hook/slice shots, advanced players use the manipulation of those shots to their advantage. If a group of trees are off to the right, accompanying a dogleg to the right far and beyond those trees, you'll need to aim slightly left, slice hard to the right, and avoid the trees with some seriously skill-based shots. In Tiger Woods 08 that's still the case, but managing to get the hook/slice to register consistently can still be a bit touchy.

In fact, we spent a full hour of our initial playthrough simply hitting balls, checking out what works within the swing, and what doesn't. The game wants you to manipulate your shot based on your wrist rotation, particularly at the beginning of your swing. The best way to do it is center your hand, twist your wrist as if opening a door, pull the B trigger, and rip your shot, taking careful notice that your hand continues to be tweaked to either direction consistently throughout the shot. On the slice (both in left hand and in right hand golfers) this is an easy task, and we have had literally no trouble using consistent slice to our advantage on the course.